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Community Garden Dedicated on "Hope Row"

Guests at Thursday's unveiling check out the features of the Weingart Center Garden Project.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Standing in the middle of what was once a dirt lot used to store abandoned mattresses and couches, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were among those to dedicate a new community garden for residents of Skid Row on Thursday morning.

Or, rather, for residents of "Hope Row." That's the new name suggested by Gregory C. Scott, CEO of Wiengart Center Assocation as he introduced the project, which sits next to Weingart's facility at 6th and San Pedro. The Weingart Center Garden Project was an AmeriCorps Week 2010 project, sponsored by Weingart, Los Angeles Christian Health Centers, the three major Downtown missions and Volunteers of America.

Roybal-Allard was willing to jump on board with the moniker. “I commend the vision to create this beautiful sanctuary for the members of Hope Row,” she said, noting the “severe lack of green space here in the Downtown area.”

The space, designed by Eva Knoppel of Garden of Eva Landscape Design Group, features a fabric patio, a designed walkway, decorative water fountain, a grill, and seating under trees.

Villaraigosa praised the site as a new place of refuge. “A lot of people have a garden in their home, this is a community garden with shade, color, and even a BBQ," he said. "It’s gardens like these that give people a place to chill, to reflect.”

While the new neighborhood name may not catch on, it seems pretty likely that the space itself will.